Rescue pup to get life-saving surgery

LAS CRUCES - Mila, a beagle at the Southern New Mexico Basset Hound and Beagle Rescue, will be flown by private plane to Utah today in an effort to save her life.

Mila suffers from a severe congenital heart defect and will undergo a nearly $20,000 surgery at the Best Friends Animal Society.

Best Friends is home to about 2,000 animals who come from shelters and rescue groups around the country with special physical or behavioral needs. The animal sanctuary receives more than 400 applications a week, said William Hart, who owns the Southern New Mexico Rescue with his wife, Linda.

"So, literally, we hit the lottery to get her in and that was the only way her life was spared," Hart said.

In October, the little, eight-pound beagle was surrendered by her owners to a shelter in Carlsbad. Veterinarians there thought Mila had a heart murmur and she was put up for adoption. But after a month it became clear that Mila wouldn't be adopted, due to her health complications, and instead she would be euthanized.

The Harts heard of Mila's condition in an e-mail from a beagle rescue in Albuquerque and they arranged for the dog to be transported to Las Cruces. She arrived here on Nov. 4 and underwent additional testing, which found her heart condition to be worse than expected. She requires a delicate and expensive heart surgery to survive.

"So we immediately got in touch with Best Friends," said Hart, who added that Mila is the first dog from Las Cruces to go there.

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"And once accepted at Best Friends, nothing is spared to save that animal's life."

The fuel for the plane alone cost $400 and a majority of the money spent on saving Mila was donated.

"It takes a huge network of people to make this all come together," said Hart, who mentioned the involvement of local shelters, veterinarians, friends from Arizona, fellow rescue operators, boarders and generous strangers.

"(It's) one story with a good ending of thousands that don't," he said.

For the last six years, William and Linda Hart have operated the Southern New Mexico Basset Hound and Beagle Rescue from their home in Las Cruces. William Hart said they now take in around 10 dogs a month, as many as they used to see in a year.

Mila will likely live at the sanctuary for the rest of her life, though it depends on her prognosis after surgery.